A global blockchain for recording high rates of COVID-19 vaccinations

【Author】 Medina, Jorge; Rojas-Cessa, Roberto; Dong, Ziqian; Umpaichitra, Vatcharapan

【Source】COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE

【影响因子】6.698

【Abstract】Blockchain has been recently proposed to securely record vaccinations against COVID-19 and manage their verification. However, existing solutions may not fully meet the requirements of a global vaccination manage-ment system. These requirements include the scalability required to support a global vaccination campaign, like one against COVID-19, and the capability to facilitate the interoperation between the independent health administrations of different countries. Moreover, access to global statistics can help to control securing community health and provide continuity of care for individuals during a pandemic. In this paper, we propose GEOS, a blockchain-based vaccination management system designed to address the challenges faced by the global vaccination campaign against COVID-19. GEOS offers interoperability between vaccination information systems at both domestic and international levels, supporting high vaccination rates and extensive coverage for the global population. To provide those features, GEOS uses a two-layer blockchain architecture, a simplified byzantine-tolerant consensus algorithm, and the Boneh-Lynn-Shacham signature scheme. We analyze the scalability of GEOS by examining transaction rate and confirmation times, considering factors such as the number of validators, communication overhead, and block size within the blockchain network. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of GEOS in managing COVID-19 vaccination records and statistical data for 236 countries, encompassing crucial information such as daily vaccination rates for highly populous nations and the global vaccination demand, as identified by the World Health Organization.

【Keywords】COVID-19; Blockchain; Block commitment time; Electronic vaccination records; Healthcare blockchain; Global vaccination; Peer-to-peer networks; High transaction throughput; Two-layered blockchain

【发表时间】2023 SEP

【收录时间】2023-08-06

【文献类型】实验仿真

【主题类别】

区块链应用-实体经济-医疗领域